Push For Ban On Domestic Ivory Trade Spurs Feud At International Summit

"As coalition of countries, including the US, push for resolution to end ivory trade, Japan, Namibia, South Africa and Canada raise concerns at Hawaii meeting".

"A resolution to end the domestic trade in ivory has descended into acrimony at a major conservation summit, with a handful of countries, including Japan and South Africa, objecting to the proposed ban.

A coalition of countries, including the US, France, Gabon, Kenya and Malawi, spoke in favor of an International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) motion that calls for every country to ban their internal trade of ivory.

However, delegates from Japan, Namibia and South Africa argued that domestic ivory markets should be left open as long as they are regulated. Canada voiced concerns that the ivory ban would affect trade of walrus and narwhal, which are hunted by indigenous people in the country."

Oliver Milman reports for the Guardian September 10, 2016.